Tech
Google Unveiled the AI Chatbot “Bard” and NASA Awarded Blue Origin With a New Contract in This Week’s Tech Roundup
This week, the tech industry saw a slew of developments in the AI space. Google unveiled its own rival to ChatGPT, an AI chatbot named Bard. At Microsoft, meanwhile, the company drew on ChatGPT’s AI algorithm to buffer the capabilities of its AI search engine.On the product side, Leica launched two new lenses for its SL2 cameras. And for those interested in space exploration, NASA has given Blue Origin a new contract to supply the rocket for its 2024 expedition to Mars.Below, HYPEBEAST has rounded up the top tech stories of the week so you can stay up to date on trends in the industry.Leica Added On to Its SL Lineup With Two New Light, Compact LensesLeica has rolled out two new compact lenses, the Summicron-SL 35 f/2 ASPH. and the Summicron-SL 50 f/2 ASPH. The lenses both come with a shall...
Xfinity customers will have to pay to stream Peacock soon
/ After axing Peacock’s free tier, NBCUniversal’s coming for Xfinity subscribers.
Don’t attempt this RGB Steam Deck mod just yet
/ This neat mod adds RGB lighting to the back of the Steam Deck, but it can damage the device. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Adam Honse / Reddit As cool as the Steam Deck looks with RGB lighting, you might not want to attempt to mod your device just yet. One Reddit user who tried the mod found that while adding the RGB LEDs doesn’t draw a significant amount of power from the battery, it can cause pretty big issues with the Steam Deck’s motherboard. The “RGBDeck” mod started making the rounds on Reddit earlier this month, with u/WUBBSY documenting the process of affixing a...
Ford’s reportedly working on a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan
/ The automaker could announce the new plant on Monday, which is expected to bring 2,500 jobs to the area.
Opera’s building ChatGPT into its sidebar
/ The company’s testing a new AI-powered ‘shorten’ feature that provides bulleted summaries of the article or webpage you’re reading. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Opera Opera’s adding a ChatGPT-powered tool to its sidebar that generates brief summaries of webpages and articles. The feature, called “shorten,” is part of the company’s broader plans to integrate AI tools into its browser, similar to what Microsoft’s doing with Edge. As shown in a demo included in Opera’s blog post, you can activate the feature by selecting the “shorten” button to the right of the address ba...
Some Googlers reportedly aren’t happy about Bard’s ‘rushed’ announcement
Google/ Tech / Google employees criticized the company and CEO Sundar Pichai over the ‘botched’ launch of its ChatGPT competitor.
The AirPods Pro and entry-level Kindle highlight this weekend’s best deals
/ Plus, you can still score steep savings on Sonos speakers, the Google Pixel Watch, and Eero’s top-of-the-line mesh Wi-Fi router. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Welcome to the weekend, dear readers! Microsoft’s forthcoming, ChatGPT-powered browser and Nintendo’s latest Direct event may have dominated the news cycle as of late, but there were a number of headline-grabbing discounts peppered throughout the week. And while we typically reserve our weekend roundups for new deals, we figured we’d take the opportunity to run through some of the highlig...
Razer Blade 18 review: the price is going up
It’s the ultimate big-screen gaming experience for the ultimate price. Razer has made big laptops in the past — but they apparently weren’t big enough. The Razer Blade 18 is the biggest-screened Razer Blade ever released, and it’s hard to overstate how immersive that 18-inch, QHD, 16:10, 240Hz display is. That massive 2560 x 1600 screen is the primary draw of the device, but a few other staples of the Blade line — the six-speaker array, the per-key RGB keyboard, the best build quality you’ll find in the high-end gaming space — as well as some features coming newly to the 18, including a CPU overclocking feature, a battery health optimizer, and an absolutely massive touchpad, all make for a solid package. While the smaller Blade 16, with its dual-mode Mini LED screen, may be a flashy and fa...
NASA Awards Blue Origin Contract To Provide Rocket for Mars Mission
NASA has selected Blue Origin to provide the rocket for its upcoming mission to Mars. Set for late 2024, the mission will investigate the magnetic field around the red planet.For Blue Origin’s first-ever interplanetary contract with NASA, the company will bring to the table its New Glenn rocket. Named after astronaut John Glenn, the rocket is capable of carrying both people and cargo loads and is designed for up to 25 orbital missions.The New Glenn will blast off in conjunction with NASA’s own Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorer (ESCAPADEs), a pair of twin spacecraft that each weigh less than 199 lb (90 kg).After leaving Earth’s orbit, it will take the ESCAPADEs about 11 months to reach Mars, after which they’ll take a few more months to adjust their orbit to the best posi...
Ledger Stax: Incredible Demand Forces Pre-Order Closure
Ledger, a leading crypto security company, has announced a major milestone: 6 million devices sold in the second half of 2022, signifying an explosive upward trend in consumer demand. November 2022 became the most successful sales month in the company’s eight-year history.In December, Ledger Stax was unveiled to much fanfare at Ledger Op3n in Paris, and it has since seen an unprecedented demand. Due to the high interest, pre-orders for Ledger Stax have been officially closed. "We would like to thank everyone who minted their NFTs, pre-ordered on Ledger.com, and our retail partners (including Best Buy) who anticipated the demand and ordered devices ahead of time. We have no more stock until the end of summer in 2023." Ledger shared with HypemoonThose who redeemed the Ledger Stax NFT will g...
Lecia Adds On to SL Lineup With Two New Light, Compact Lenses
Leica is building on its latest camera lineup, consisting of the Leica SL2 and the Leica SL2-S, with high-performance lenses to pair. The Summicron-SL 35 f/2 ASPH. and the Summicron-SL 50 f/2 ASPH are billed compact lenses designed to capture precise and stable images.The SL 35 and SL 50 lenses are standard focal lengths with a remarkably shallow depth of field. As part of Leica’s Summicron roster, which has rolled out iterations of the lens since the 1950s, they all pack an f/2 maximum aperture, making them ideal for low-light environments. The lenses are known for their quick shutter speed, as well as accuracy to extending to the corners of the image.The Summicron-SL 35 f/2 ASPH has a closest focusing distance of only .25 m, making it ideal for landscape or street photography. The Summic...
